- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As made)
The Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2013, Section 11 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 26 April 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Instrument (including any effects on those provisions):
11.—(1) These Regulations apply for the purposes of determining whether an individual or a legal person qualifies for civil legal services under Part 1 of the Act in accordance with section 11(1)(b) M1.
(2) In determining whether an individual qualifies for civil legal services under Part 1 of the Act, the Director must apply the general merits criteria, except to the extent that they are disapplied, modified or supplemented by the specific merits criteria.
(3) The Director must apply the merits criteria which are appropriate in each case in accordance with Part 5 (application of the merits criteria), to the extent that it is relevant.
(4) Subject to paragraph (9), an individual or legal person may qualify for civil legal services in accordance with Part 1 of the Act only if the Director is satisfied that—
(a)the general merits criteria and, to the extent that they are relevant, the specific merits criteria are met;
(b)the criterion in paragraph (6) is met; and
(c)the criterion in paragraph (8) is met, to the extent that it is relevant.
(5) When determining whether an individual qualifies for civil legal services under Part 1 of the Act, the Director must apply the merits criteria which are relevant to the forms of civil legal services set out in Part 2 (form of civil legal services) and must consider which form of civil legal services is appropriate in accordance with Part 3 (availability of forms of civil legal services).
(6) An individual or legal person may qualify for civil legal services only if the Director is satisfied that it would be reasonable to provide those services in the light of the conduct of that individual or legal person in connection with—
(a)any civil legal services made available under Part 1 of the Act;
(b)any application for civil legal services under Part 1 of the Act; or
(c)any civil proceedings for resolving disputes about legal rights or duties.
(7) If the Director is satisfied that—
(a)the case is not a case which relates to the life or liberty of the individual or their family (an individual is a member of another individual's family if the requirements of section 10(6) are met);
(b)the case is not a public law children case; and
(c)the likely costs of the case exceed £250,000 or, if the case forms part of a multi-party action, the likely costs of the multi-party action exceed £1,000,000,
the criterion in paragraph (8) applies.
(8) An individual or legal person may qualify for civil legal services only if the Director is satisfied that, having had regard to the present and likely future demands for the provision of civil legal services under Part 1 of the Act, it is reasonable to provide the individual or legal person with civil legal services in all the circumstances of the case including, but not limited to, the particular circumstances of the individual or legal person.
(9) No merits criteria apply to civil legal services provided—
(a)in relation to an assessment by a mediator of whether, in the light of all the circumstances, a case is suitable for mediation;
(b)in relation to any matter described in paragraph 18(2) of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act ([F1Transitional EU arrangements] and international agreements concerning maintenance), to the extent that it—
(i)relates to any application under Article 56(1)(a) or (b) of the EU Maintenance Regulation M2; and
(ii)concerns maintenance obligations arising from a parent-child relationship towards a person under the age of 21;
(c)in relation to any matter described in paragraph 17(1)(b) of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act (an application made to the Lord Chancellor under the 1980 Hague Convention M3 in respect of a child who is, or is believed to be, in England and Wales), to the extent that it relates to an applicant under the 1980 Hague Convention; or
(d)in relation to any matter described in paragraph 18(3A) of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act (application made under Article 10 of the 2007 Hague Convention) to the extent that it—
(i)relates to any application under Article 10(1)(a) or (b) of the 2007 Hague Convention; and
(ii)is an application made by a creditor under the 2007 Hague Convention concerning maintenance obligations arising from a parent-child relationship towards a person under the age of 21.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in reg. 11(9)(b) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Jurisdiction and Judgments (Family) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/519), reg. 1(1), Sch. para. 41(3) (with reg. 8) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1574, regs. 1, 5(2)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1Reg. 11 modified (24.3.2022) by The Early Legal Advice Pilot Scheme Order 2022 (S.I. 2022/397), arts. 1(1), 3(1), Sch. para. 2(2) (with arts. 3(2), 4)
Marginal Citations
M1Paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 3 to the Act (legal aid for legal persons) provides that section 11 applies in relation to a determination under paragraph 3(1)(b) of Schedule 3 to the Act. A determination under paragraph 3(1)(b) is a determination that a legal person qualifies for civil legal services in accordance with Part 1 of the Act.
M2The EU Maintenance Regulation is defined in paragraph 18(5) of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act to mean Council Regulation (EC) No. 4/2009 of 18 December 2008 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and co-operation in matters relating to maintenance obligations.
M3The 1980 Hague Convention is defined in paragraph 17(3) of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act to mean the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction which was signed at The Hague on 25 October 1980.
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Explanatory Memorandum sets out a brief statement of the purpose of a Statutory Instrument and provides information about its policy objective and policy implications. They aim to make the Statutory Instrument accessible to readers who are not legally qualified and accompany any Statutory Instrument or Draft Statutory Instrument laid before Parliament from June 2004 onwards.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: